1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heat exchangers and, more particularly, to a mounting and sealing element for connecting cores to the tanks of the heat exchanger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heat exchangers and radiators, and primarily the type of radiators used to cool internal combustion engines either on a moving vehicle or on a fixed stationary frame while usually constructed as single integral units, have been constructed by mounting a plurality of cooling cores between a pair of spaced manifold tanks or by hooking the cooling cores together by hoses. These cooling cores are formed from a tube having fins radiating therefrom and providing means for fluid coolant delivered from the circulating system of the engine to flow from one manifold through the tube into the other manifold. Air flow, often created by a fan or movement of the vehicle, passes through the radiator to absorb heat from the radiating fins thereby reducing the heat of the fluid coolant flowing through the tubes. The cooling cores may be removed individually after one of the manifolds or hoses are disconnected.
It is essential in such radiators to provide a fluid-tight connection between the manifolds and the cooling cores. Oftentimes, the cooling cores are soldered to the manifold tanks. In other constructions, the cooling cores are clamped to the manifold or are provided with grommets or O-rings to provide a sealing capability when the cooling cores are plugged into the manifolds. Because of the high number of seals required, some leakage problems are expected, particularly in the case of O-rings which are not adopted to tolerate much relative motion.
In addition, the heat exchangers must be constructed so that thermal expansion of the cooling cores as the coolant heats up is compensated for. Since the cooling cores are normally made from copper or aluminum which expands more rapidly than the steel frame to which the radiator is bolted, the thermal growth of the radiator is much greater than that of the frame. Hence, solid soldered or clamped connections are not desirable, since they do not readily permit relative movement between the connected components.
Recognizing that vehicle frames distort during operation, the radiator cores have in the past been elastically mounted in some manner to prevent rupture of the radiator cores which might otherwise occur if the cores were rigidly attached to the frame or to the manifold. However, these soft suspensions, which provide a misalignment mount function, may frequently lead to resonant vibration of the radiators. To prevent malfunction of the radiator, the radiator must be isolated against shock and vibration. Large radiators have utilized separate snubbers to prevent excessive vibration amplitudes at resonant speeds, but it is expensive to design and manufacture a snubber to provide the desired damping.